Pharmacology and therapeutics in dermatology

This module is designed to enable learners acquire knowledge of pharmacology and therapeutics with regard to dermatology practice so that they can treat the various dermatological diseases and conditions appropriately using the relevant drugs in the right forms, dosages, routes of administration and duration. This will facilitate the achievement of the intended therapeutic goals and outcomes by providing useful information to skin patients and clients for good compliance and satisfaction.
Skin patients do not require only topical medications but a whole range of drugs including systemic and other special categories of medicines. Therefore a sound understanding of drugs like classes, proprietary and trade names, their modes of action, doses, drug interactions and side effects.
It also introduces the learners to basics of compounding of skin preparations especially where individualized medications are needed in larger quantities for prolonged periods to effect improvement or cure.
Many of the drugs such as immune-modulators, steroids and retinoids, are associated with serious adverse effects and therefore require careful monitoring and the necessary adjustments done to avoid the negative consequences.